Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-07-26
I ABOUT KANSAS CITY.
GOING AHEAD WITH ALL THE
VGOR OF YOUNG MANHOOD.

WGoR OF YOUNG MANHOOD.
-hs Interesting Story of Its Growth
from a village of 500 Souls Thirty two
Years Ago to It's Present Thriving
Condition-Some of Its Men.
Especial Correspondence
KANSAS CITY. July 10.
Kansas City is just about the age Of a man
when he is ready to begin his life work, and
the city is going ahead with all the strength
c. young manhood. Thirty-two years ago
CS55) it had 300 people, and it was little
village with the wide Missouri in its front
and with a big bluff and an area Of badly
broken land at its back. By 1870 it had be-
come a city of 80 600 people, and ten years
later its population was doubled. It has now
more than doubled again, and the village Of
800 has become a city Of 10000 1t has
spread itself all over the billy bluff, has cut
down some of the hills and filled up many of
the hollows, and has made itself worthy Of
its title, the Chicago of the West" Gable
cars now pull its citizens up the hill; it has
an elevated railway, an electric road and
twenty seven miles Of paved streets. 1t has
ffty-four miles of sewers and seventy four
miles Of water mains. Its wholesale trade in
1886 amounted to s6O, 900 900, and it stands
tenth among the cities of the United States
as to the amount Of its bank clearances, hav-
ing done S200, 1000, 900 worth of business in
1886. The bank clearfngs of the city during
the past six months have increased 50 per
cent. over those of last year, and Kansas
City now stands ahead of New Orleans as
money center. The ciearings in 1885 were
larger in proportion to inhabitants than those
OF New York city, and the table OF assessed
nJrar rp 4.
wears, shows wonderful growth. In 1876
Tue amount of property in the city was esti-
mated at 100000. In 1870 it had reached
$4,000 ,000 and after rising to $40, OO0, 600 in
1877 it fell, through the panic of 1878, to
$4,000, 900 again until 1879, when it began to
rise and steadily increased, until the assessed
value OF the city property was in 1886 $751;
25OOOO. 49,.
The city is the key to the southwest, and it
forms the great distributing point for Kan
sas, Texas, Colorado, Indian territory, a
part OF Nebraska, and it gets slice Of trade
from old Mexico. If you will look at the
west OF the United States, you will see that it
forms the natural supply point for this great
area of territory, and its sources of growth
in this regard are the same as those which
made Chicago. All of this country has been
rapidly growing, and in all of it the govern
mon. lands-save in the Indian territory
have been almost all settled upon. Cities
aud towns have grown up, and this
new population is dependent largely
upon Kansas City. The great rail-
roads which tap this country center in it
or pass through it, and it has now fourteen
railroads going out Of it in every direction
Its business cuts deep into that of S. Louis
and Chicago, and, in fact, Kansas City's re-
rnarkahle growth has much to do with the
standstill of st. Louis The meat packing
interests of this point are now second only to
those of Chicago, and Phil Armour has great
packing houses here Armourdale is the
name of a settlement OH the banks of the
river below the city which is made up of this
il iustry 1t contains stock yards and great
white buildings of many stories, which frowp
down Oh the dirty novels of the laborers, and
urnsh, when lne wind blows toward the
,ity, a most nauseous smell for the nostrils
II those on the bluff. Last year the products
Il the several firms packing in Kansas City
amounted to $50, 900 600, and the returns of
the present year show an increase of SO per
emit. above this, while those of the packing
industry at Chicago have fallen off. Eight
hundred and eighty four thousand hogs in
"ound numbers have been slaughtered here
since January, or, estimating each hog at five
feet long, about enough to make single file
lose to tail procession of hogs from New
York to Chicago. This is an increase Of
more than 100000 over the same period of
asst year. This increase is due to the
development of the country tributary
20 Kansas City, which makes up
m empire in its area and resources,
md which by the estimate of the great sta
tisticians may be comprised as follows: The
state of Kansas is as big Great Britain,
Colorado is larger than New York, New Jer-
.ay, Pennsylvania and Delaware Missouri is
bigger than all New England, and New Mex
co is larger than Great Britain and Ireland,
81; IL, l. ,.lxr.
whole OF France. This great terri
tory sends the greater part of its product
through Kansas City, and it is through Kan
sas City that it gets the most of its supplies
1t Is not much wonder that the town has
grown, and its future a great city is fully
assured. Still there may be such thing as
growing too fast, and it is a question as to
whether Kansas City is not now doing lust
hat thing in her real estate boom.
~.
One man in every eighty of the population
s a professional seller and buyer of property.
md Kansas City has 2, 900 real estate agents
Farm lands within n radius of five miles from
its center are selling at 81 900 an acre. and
: the whole of the surrounding country is be-
ing laid out into lots. Independence, Mo, is
little city twelve miles away down the
river, and between this point and Kansas
City there is a continuous series of additions
labeled with high sounding names and away
out of the sight of houses you may see real
estate signs stating that this valuable lot of
so or 100 by $50 feet is for sale by Messrs
Blank & Co. In the city itself the business
blocks are plastered with real estate signs, and
immense structures that would honor any
position in New York or Chicago are devoted
entirely to the accommodation of real estate
and loan agency companies. There are two
real estate exchanges here where the sellers
meet and offer their properties for sale and
the bIlletin boards about the city and the
newspapers are fun of advertisements.
was shown today book containing abct 200
maps descriptive of the different additions to
and parts OF the city, which cost SIS a vol
ume. 1t was yard square and was made
especially for real estate offices.
as.
Before me lies today's Kansas City Times
containing among its many advertisement